When we’ve gone to England, we’ve always made sure to visit churches and church buildings, because it is in these buildings where history comes alive.
All Hallows by the Tower is likely overlooked by most visitors, but it shouldn’t be. You follow the short walking tour, and you discover the window blown out during the Blitz, the Saxon arch, the Roman cobblestones, and even the Tower from which Admiral Penn (William’s father) stood with Samuel Pepys and watched the great Fire of London in 1666. Or St. Bride’s on Fleet Street, the “Journalists church,” rebuilt after World War II to Sir. Christopher Wren’s original design, including the famous steeple which has inspired wedding cakes the world over.
The churches of London aren’t only Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral. And you can’t go anywhere in England without coming across a church, even in the smallest hamlets that you pass and see from the train window. More than 12,500 are listed by Historic England, not all still functioning churches but still serving a function.
It is these churches that are the focus of Forgotten Churches: Exploring England’s Hidden Treasures by Luke Sherlock. Churches are something of a serious avocation for Sherlock, who has visited them all over England. They tell the story of England’s past; one day, they might tell of it future.
Sherlock considers the past of these churches; many of them date back to Anglo-Saxon and late medieval times. But he also looks their architecture, their current uses, unique characteristics, and people associated with them. Most of them can only be reached by automobile; Sherlock often took trains, caught taxis, or just walked to visit them. The 71 churches he describes speak mostly to town and village life, as well as the very different times when they were built.
Each entry is relatively short; Sherlock doesn’t give you every fact and figure or tell the full, complete history of each church. Yet he writes with respect and almost reverently; he knows what these churches represent, and he is ever mindful of the place they occupy in England’s history.
Five of the churches are in London; I’ve visited two of them.
The Round Tower of Temple Church
The Temple Church was largely destroyed during the Blitz in World War II, but it was beautifully and faithfully reconstructed. The tombs of knights are in the entrance of the nave area, entered after you walk through the church’s domed round tower. The church dates to 1162, and it was here that the Magna Carta was negotiated. It’s considered to be the birthplace of American law as well. The church’s round tower is modelled after that of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem; the Knights Templar intended it to be a “recreation of the holiest Christian pilgrimage sites on English soil,” Sherlock says.
St. John’s Chapel is in the White Tower of the Tower of London. I’d first seen n in 1983; forty years passed before I saw it again, this time with my youngest son. Commissioned by Wiliam the Conqueror “as the spiritual heart of his glistening, domineering White Tower,” Sherlock writes, it was “eccelesiastical architecture to make a statement.” When you’ve seen the big cathedrals and abbeys and even some of the more recent churches, St. John’s Chapel seems almost austere, stripped bare of all the ornaments, stained glass, and decorations.
Luke Sherlock
Sherlock is a writer and owner of Sherlock & Pages, a bookshop in Frome, Somerset in England. He has a passion for landscape, heritage, and art. He reports (and photographs) his travels across England on Instagram under @englishpilgrim.
You might expect Forgotten Churches to be an oversized, coffee-table took with lavish photographs. But it is 6 ½ by 8 ½ inches, and instead of photographs, it is fully illustrated with beautiful drawings by Ioana Pioaru, in keeping with the book’s reverent tone. It’s not intended to be a travel guide; you’ll need to look up your own directions to reach the various churches. Instead, it is a lovely collection of responses and reactions to some of England’s most visible (and oldest) architecture.
Top photograph: St. John's Chapel, White Tower, Tower of London.
Some Monday Readings
The Switch and the Clore: Modern Extensions to Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the Holbourne – Andrew Eberlin at Photos, photographers and photobooks.
The Great American Travel Book – Thomas Swick at The American Scholar.
Worse than woke, Smithsonian art is bad – Gage Klipper at The Spectator World.
“Songs My Mother Taught Me,” by Antonin Dvorak – Debra Esolen at Word & Song.
The Return of the Family Doctor – Brewer Eberly at Plough Magazine.
